AI is also the key growth driver in management consulting
According to the Federal Association of German Management Consultancies (BDU e.V.), of which GC has been a member for many years, management consultancies in Germany expect to return to a growth trajectory in 2026, while having to hold their own amid the challenges of AI transformation.
In 2025, the German management consulting industry achieved total revenue of 49.0 billion euros, representing growth of just +0.5 percent. The performance of the various consulting sectors was highly uneven: While IT consulting (+2.8%) and strategy consulting (+1.1%) grew, HR, organizational, and process consulting (each -0.8%) saw a slight decline.
For 2026, the industry forecasts positive growth of +4.5 percent, which would mean revenue growth to 51.1 billion euros. The forecast indicates a noticeable recovery across all major consulting sectors. Strategy (+5.2%) and IT consulting (+4.7%) are developing particularly dynamically and continue to serve as key growth drivers. At the same time, organizational and process consulting (+3.5%) is regaining importance amid rising transformation demands. HR consulting (+4.2%) is also seeing positive momentum again. However, future growth requires differentiated services and products with clear customer benefits, as well as flexibility regarding the delivery model. The latter, in particular, can sometimes be quite challenging for smaller consulting firms.
AI Shapes the Consulting Business By
2025, AI had already emerged as the key growth driver in the German management consulting market: Artificial Intelligence posted growth of +18.8 percent, which was significantly above the overall market. In 2026 as well, AI remains the industry’s growth driver with a forecast of +22 percent.
AI has a dual effect: it drives growth as a standalone consulting field while simultaneously serving as a lever for efficiency in client organizations, for example through automation and productivity gains. This demonstrates that technology plays a major role in many consulting projects and that the use of AI has now become standard practice.
